1. At the outset, my hearty greetings to you all on the occasion of the 68th Republic Day Celebrations.

2. I am sure, as right-thinking citizens of this country, we all need to constantly uphold all those lofty ideals, which inspired our great leaders to usher in the Constitution of India containing the cardinal principles of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

3. I am equally beholden to the presence of delegates from foreign countries on this occasion and on behalf of people of Karnataka, I warmly welcome them to the State.

4. On this momentous day of national celebration, I am indeed glad to inaugurate the Indian Machine Tool Exhibition-2017 and Tool Tech-2017, organized by the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers Association in Bengaluru, the Most Dynamic City in the world.

5. This Exhibition was first held in this city in 2007 and ever since, it has been a gateway for attracting investments in Karnataka.

6. As you are all aware, Karnataka is the seventh largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) producing State in India with 5.5 per cent contribution to the National GDP.

7. It is the conscious endeavor of this Government to build a prosperous Karnataka by means of inclusive, sustainable and balanced industrial development thereby creating large employment opportunities through its New Industrial Policy for 2014-19.

8. Keeping in view their contribution towards GDP and employment generation, Aerospace, Machine Tool, Steel and Cement Sectors have been considered as the focused industries in this Policy.

9. Our New Industrial Policy aims to achieve a growth rate of 12 per cent per annum and attract investments worth Rs 5 Lakh Crore providing employment to around 15 lakh people at the end of its 5 year term.

10. It also aims to enhance the contribution of manufacturing sector to the State GDP from the present level of 16.87 per cent to 20 per cent by the end of the Policy period and spread industrial growth to every nook and corner of the State.

11. Karnataka is the home for Toyota Kirloskar, Volvo, Honda, TVS, Tata, Mahindra, J K Tyres and a host of other major automobile industries.

12. In spite of having made its mark as the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru is historically known as one of the foremost manufacturing hubs in the country with the presence of Hindustan Machine Tools, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, National Aeronautical Laboratories and many others. Thus, Bengaluru has the perfect ambience for the development of original equipment manufacturing activities.

13. Ever since our Government has come to power, ease-of-doing-business has been our motto.

14. Towards realizing this, we have launched many initiatives and brought many reforms to speed-up industry-led growth in the State.

15. One such initiative for the Machine Tool Industry is the establishment of Integrated Infrastructure Facilities for making the industry more competitive by providing a highly conducive eco system for production.

16. It is well known that machine tools are the backbone of manufacturing, which in turn, spurs the economy.

17. Karnataka has always been the cradle for the machine tool industry, which has now grown to produce 50 per cent of Indian machine tool output. Keeping this in view, our Government, along with the industry, has charted out a plan for developing a Machine Tool Park in the State.

18. The proposed Machine Tool Park at Vasantha Narsapur in Tumakuru district is a joint venture between the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka.

19. This Park, coming up in 500 acres, is expected to boost the domestic turnover of machine tools and save foreign exchange and reduce imports, besides, creating more than 4000 jobs in manufacturing and administrative fields.

20. I am happy to inform you that our Government is going all out to attract investments by creating necessary infrastructure. The Bengaluru-Chennai Industrial Corridor, Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor, expansion of Kempegowda International Airport are some of the major steps in this regard.

21. I am happy to note that the global machine tool industry has been enthusiastic in coming forward to participate in this Exhibition. We have here representatives from some of the best global companies to whom I extend a warm welcome to invest in the State and assuring them, all co-operation from the State Government to succeed and prosper.

22. As a leading exhibition for machine tools, not just in India, but for the entire South East Asia, Indian Machine Tool Exhibition covers the entire spectrum of manufacturing including sectors such as automobiles, defence, railways, aerospace, power, electrical and electronics as well as medical equipments.

23. Indian Machine Tool Exhibition has been playing an important role in providing a much-needed and much-applauded platform for both Indian and international companies to display their innovations and technologies.

24. The Exhibition has created opportunities for companies to explore joint ventures, gain technological know-how besides helping Indian and overseas companies to understand requirements of mutual markets.

25. Our Government is keen to ensure an inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth for all types of industries in order to promote higher capital formation, improve per capita income levels and to absorb surplus workforce.

26. With more than one thousand exhibitors from 22 countries participating in this great event, I am sure, this exhibition is a great opportunity for the key decision and policy makers as well as the Captains of Industries to interact and arrive at profitable conclusions relating to issues pertaining to Machine Tool Sector.

27. I, once again, heartily welcome all of you. I wish you a purposeful participation and a pleasant stay in the salubrious climate of Bengaluru.